


on the devil's palm

by littlemaple



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Nadia (The Arcana) Route - Reversed Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 13:30:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21137495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemaple/pseuds/littlemaple
Summary: Nadia was the Devil, but she was still the same Nadia... right?





	on the devil's palm

**Author's Note:**

> hi hello i just finished nadia's reversed ending and i cant stop thinking about it. im!!!!! aaaaa  
anyway yeah the apprentice here is named Fae, because why not. i put it down as joke when i first started playing and i fell in love with it and oops.

The days were peaceful — sometimes short, other times lasting forever, but in the end, they were basically the same. Fae lost track of time rather quickly, practicing his magic, spending time with Nadia — with the Devil. He didn’t think much about it. He knew that it was still Nadia, and that Nadia still loved him.

He felt lonely, though. Nadia was still Nadia, but she was busy with a thousand things, and the servants were all faceless and cold. He missed his shop, the smell of herbs and spices, brewing potions and reading by the front window. He missed Faust, and he missed Asra. Fae’s chest always grew tight when he thought of them, Asra’s smile — the first thing he had seen, his first memory.

Fae voiced these feelings to Nadia once, but all she said was that he should focus on his magic, that soon they’d walk free from the realm and visit their friends. But Fae was afraid of that, a little. There was a glint of something in Nadia’s eyes whenever she’d say that she couldn’t wait to be free, the things she’d do, the change she’d perform. Fae remembered how she ripped the heart right out of the Devil himself, the viscous and ugly thing that she showed him proudly, and he wondered frequently if that thing hadn’t changed her on the inside as it has changed her on the outside.

And he was afraid. For their friends, and for himself. He knew Nadia would never hurt him, but he also knew he couldn’t leave her side, that he was bound to her. Sometimes even when he tried to explore the Devil’s realm, traveling too far and for too long would make his chest ache and his body tired. And then he’d turn around, went back to the castle, and sat by Nadia’s feet, he’d feel fine again.

He still liked to explore, though. It was a way to keep his mind busy. He found strange things, and marvelous things also. Nadia always loved to hear the stories of the places he’d seen, too.

And then he found them.

Asra’s parents, trapped deep within the Devil’s realm, hidden. He had felt an unfamiliar magic and followed it. He was surprised to see other people there, then sick when they told him who they were. He tried to free them, but the chains binding them burned his hands.

“I can’t go against the Devil…” he told them, fear in his eyes. Did Nadia know about them? Was Nadia keeping them prisoners? “I’ll… talk to her,” he said.

“Be careful,” Salim said, and Aisha smiled at him, encouraging. Asra looked so much like them that they felt familiar. It was a nice feeling.

That night, in bed, as Nadia stroked his hair, Fae wondered how he could bring it up. He felt tense. He knew Nadia was watching.

“You found them,” she told him with a small smile, sweet as always. Fae froze. She kept talking, “Salim and Aisha… Asra’s parents. The Devil had them trapped in here, some deal with Lucio, it seems.”

“You… knew about them?” Fae asked.

“Of course. I know everything that’s going on in my realm.”

“And you didn’t free them?”

Nadia’s smile dropped.

“I will. As soon as we can leave this place, I’ll look for Asra.”

“Why not free them now?”

Nadia didn’t say anything at first, her long, claw-like fingers still playing with Fae’s hair. The silence was heavy. Suffocating.

“You’ll use them as bargain,” Fae concluded on his own. Nadia smiled. 

“You’re so clever. I love that about you.”

“Why?” he asked, sitting up, “Why not set them free? That’s wrong! Nadia, you can’t—” he stopped there, gasping. He felt like there was a hand on his throat, stopping his words. But there was nothing. Nadia kept smiling.

He belonged to the Devil. He couldn’t go against it, couldn’t leave her side.

“... sorry,” he whispered, and the hand around his throat disappeared. He touched his throat lightly, his fingers trembling, and he flinched when Nadia approached him again, playing with his hair once more.

“It’s okay,” she said, embracing him, “everything will work out as long as we’re together, my little, precious Fae. Don’t worry about a thing. You know I would never hurt you. Just stay by my side.”

Fae didn’t say anything. He accepted Nadia’s hug, his own arms wrapping around her as he tried, and failed, not to cry.

He felt lonely and scared. He missed Asra, his home, and most of all, he missed the Nadia he loved. She was long gone, he realized, as the Devil kissed his forehead sweetly.

**Author's Note:**

> catch me on twitter @mapleparadox crying over the arcana


End file.
